Network18 & Apollo Hospitals Group join hands to present 'Healers of India 2017',
a path-breaking initiative to identify and honour the unsung heroes who are contributing their level best and working tirelessly to ensure better healthcare for India's rural population. This series puts the spotlight on those Doctors, Nurses, district health officers and ASHA workers who are the backbone of India's rural healthcare sector.

ABOUT

Healers of India

As per the World Health Organisation, there is only 1 doctor for every 1,700 citizens in India against the WHO’s mandatory ratio of 1:1,000. A recent Parliamentary Committee report on the functioning of the Medical Council of India further says that the real number of doctors in India is much smaller than the official figure and the doctor to patient ratio is 1:2000 if not more. This ratio is worse than countries like Vietnam, Algeria and Pakistan and India is short of at least 5 lakh doctors.

In an attempt to bridge the need gap especially in rural India, the central government has now increased the retirement age of doctors from 60 years to 65 years and all attempts are being made by both public and private players to boost India’s rural healthcare system. As per the Health Ministry data, primary health centres as well as community health centres face severe shortage of doctors, technicians, nurses and other medical staff. The country needs at least 50,000 critical specialists and has only 8,350 at the moment. As a result, most doctors are subject to long and grueling working hours, suffer mental and physical exhaustion, deal with administrative hurdles especially in remote corners of the country and yet continue to serve rural India day after day to best of their abilities, in order to live by the Hippocratic Oath that they took.

Healers of India 2017 is a multi-faceted campaign across various Network18 media to laud the efforts of doctors and medical staff at the last mile. The objective of the campaign will be to honour and recognize doctors, nurses, ASHA workers, NGOs and corporate organisations that are contributing selflessly to save lives and improve the health of India’s rural population. The campaign will focus only on rural India to bring those unsung heroes into mainstream media who work silently and are rarely appreciated for their humungous effort.

First DM in Pulmonary Medicine in the country
Recipient of several awards & honours including the prestigious Padma Sri in 2015, Himachal Gaurav Puraskar in 2011, LIC –Zee TV Swastha Bharat Samman in 2010 and has delivered 4 prestigious National orations

Recipient of prestigious Dr. B.C. Roy award Award for the year 2014 in the category of “Eminent Medical Person”
More than 400 publications; 49 chapters; 20 research grants and more than 200 invited lectures
Personal physician to the PM of India from 1998 to 2004

Advisor and consultant to various International and National bodies including WHO, (Geneva) IAEA (Vienna)

Dr. Abhay Bang

Social Activist & Founder, Search

After completing the Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, Dr Bang decided to relocate to the internal tribal pockets of Maharashtra. Along with this wife Rani, he set up the Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) to provide community healthcare to the tribes in Gadchiroli district. Located in the south eastern corner of Maharashtra, Gadchiroli is almost entirely rural. It has a large tribal population and had only 22 per cent literacy, scant transportation, and no industry to speak of.

By using rigorous research methods, they showed that their new approach, the Home-based Newborn and Child Care (HBNCC) could reduce the infant mortality to the level of 30 from the baseline of 121. This approach was celebrated by the Lancet as the Vintage Paper in the Lancet, has received global recognition and has changed the newborn care policy in several developing countries. The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have recently endorsed his approach to treating newborn babies and the program is currently being rolled out in parts of Africa.

S Sivakumar

Divisional Chief Executive, Agri Business ITC

S Sivakumar is the Divisional Chief Executive of the Agri Business Division at ITC Limited. He is also the Chairman of Technico Agri Sciences Limited, and Vice Chairman of ITC Infotech India Limited and its subsidiaries in the UK and USA.

The e-Choupal initiative was developed and executed under Sivakumar's leadership of the Agri Business Division. Topper of the Class of 1983 from the Institute of Rural Management Anand, (IRMA), Sivakumar worked with a farmers' cooperative for six years before joining ITC in 1989.

Sivakumar is the Chairman of the National Agricultural Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Vice Chairman of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Social Innovation, and a member on the Board of Governors of Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

Prof. K. Srinath Reddy

President, Public Health Foundation of India

Prof. K. Srinath Reddy is President, Public Health Foundation of India and formerly headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Having trained in cardiology and epidemiology, Prof. Reddy has been involved in several major international and national research studies. Prof. Reddy has been a researcher, teacher, policy enabler, advocate and activist who has worked to promote cardiovascular health, tobacco control, and appropriate nutrition across the life course, chronic disease prevention and healthy living across the lifespan. He edited the National Medical Journal of India for 10 years and is on editorial board of several international and national journals.

He has served on many WHO expert panels and has been the President of the World Heart Federation (2013-14).

His contributions to public health have won him several awards and honours including Padma Bhushan (Presidential Honour), Queen Elizabeth Medal (Royal Society for Health Promotion, UK, 2005), among many others.

Prasoon Joshi has his finger on the pulse of the Nation.
Having published his first book of prose and poetry at the age of 17 and working on his fifth, his mastery of ideas and artistry of words have shone through the varied worlds he straddles - From writing to advertising to poetry song writing scripts and more.
An Internationally acclaimed Advertising professional -Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio winner amongst host of other International awards and honours he is also a National Award winning Film script and songwriter.

He is currently the CEO & Chief Creative Officer of McCann Worldgroup India and Chairman McCann Asia Pacific.
He’s also been designated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
The corporate epithets however, hint nothing at the soul, warmth and sparkling humour that Prasoon brings to his work, whether through iconic campaigns like Coca Cola, Nestle, Happydent, Dettol or Snapdeal. Or through his iconic Feature Film work like Rang de Basanti, Taare zameen par, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and recently Neerja which have garnered Film-fares and Screen, IAFFA but also moved hearts and impacted mass consciousness.

He has also created campaigns for causes with UNICEF, Pulse Polio, HIV Breakthrough, and the critical Malnutrition Campaign for the Government of India. And UN’s stand up against Poverty campaign amongst host of others.
His columns on business and social issues across mainline and regional publications are known for their intricacy of thought and potency of phrase.
For his varied talents and the far-reaching impact of his work on the literary and social landscape, in 2016 he was also honoured by the President of India with the Padma Award - one of the most prestigious civilian honours.
The universality of Prasoon’ s virtuosity lies in the fact that he recognizes, in his own words, that human emotions are the same all over the world — it is their expression alone that is different.

Dr. (Prof) Jagdish Prasad

Director General of Health Services, MoHFW, Govt. of India

Dr. (Prof) Jagdish Prasad, MS, M.Ch. FIACS is the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India. He is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon of the country.
In recognition of his contribution to the field of medicine, particularly cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Safdarjung Hospital and economizing the cost of cardiac surgery, the President of India conferred on him the Padma Shree Award in 1991.

He has also served as the founder principal and professor & chief of cardiac surgery at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Medical Superintendent of the associated Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.

Siddhartha Bhattacharya is responsible for the overall development, management, and leadership of the activities of ACCESS Health International (www.accessh.org) in India. Over last eighteen years, Siddhartha has worked in global leadership roles in private sector, public private partnerships and in Government in the health, information technology and technology services. Siddhartha holds a Bachelor's degree with honors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan. He also received his Master's in Business Administration from the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Rahul Verma,

Founder, Uday Foundation

Rahul is a social activist and founder of the nonprofit, Uday Foundation. He also writes about social and health related causes. His columns have appeared in The Times of India, NDTV and various other publications.

Dr Ranjan Pejaver,

Co-Founder, Immunize India Programme

Dr. Ranjan Kumar Pejaver, is an honorary Professor of Neonatology and an author of several books on child development and neonatal management. He is currently the President elect of the Asia Oceania Perinatal Societies and has held office in the Neonatal Foundation and IAP. He speaks often at events worldwide and has published 64 scientific papers.

Vineet Kumar

Manager, Discover Services, Ennovent

Vineet Kumar has over a decade of experience in philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and international development. At Ennovent, Vineet leads the Discover Services where he scouts and creates a curated pipeline of investible social enterprises. He closely works with social enterprises and start-ups in the skill-development, agri-business, renewable energy and education space by providing them strategic planning, mentorship and partnership support.

He has extensive experience of collaborating with bilateral and technical agencies such as USAID-Sri Lanka, Ashoka-Innovators for the Public, and UNDP. Through his experience, Vineet has developed a strong acumen for creating and executing strategic solutions that make a difference in the lives of low-income communities.

Vineet holds a Master's degree in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam and a degree in History and Law from University of Delhi."

Dr. Lalit Kumar

Hony. Senior Vice President, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation

Dr. Lalit Kumar is currently working as Hony. Senior Vice President, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, for the last two years.
Earlier, as Adviser, Planning Commission, he dealt with policy issues relating to the Voluntary Sector and he was the main architect of the ‘National Policy on Voluntary Sector’, approved by the Union Cabinet. He also looked after sectors like: Social Development, Environment & Forests, Project Appraisal & Management, Labor & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports.

As Secretary, National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), Ministry of Home Affairs (2008-12), Dr. Lalit developed the Foundation into an effective and vibrant organization.
He was selected as Senior Philanthropy Fellow, Center for Policy Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA; and earlier conducted Post-Doctoral Research at the University of Arizona, USA.
He holds Ph.D. (Anthropology) from the University of Delhi and M.Sc. (Economics) degree from the University of Wales, UK.

Dr. Lalit has published more than 50 Papers and has been invited globally for making presentations.